Gresey: Students explore options at career fair

That question was contemplated by students Friday during the third annual Geneva High School Career Fair.

About 20 different professionals attended the event to dispense information about their careers.

I was among those who manned a table at the career fair, of which I was happy to be part.

One of the students I spoke with Friday was junior Laura Busha.

Laura had contacted me a few months ago about participating in a job shadow at the Kane County Chronicle.

It was great to meet Laura in person. I asked her what careers she was interested in pursuing.

“I want to be an engineer, but I really like writing,” she said, noting she had thought about starting a women’s engineering publication in the future.

After speaking with me, Laura went to the table across from mine to speak with Pam Broviak, a civil engineer and assistant director of public works for the city of Geneva.

Pam spoke with Laura and sophomore Julia Wilson about her job.

Later, I asked Pam what she thought about participating in the fair.

“It’s nice to see so many people interested in their future and our future,” she said. “I think it’s really important for [the students] to talk to people in other professions.”

Exposure to various professions and information about different career paths was something that Stefany Montgomery, an organizer of the career fair and career counselor at GHS, wanted the students to pick up on.

“That they learned about the variety of career paths they can take – that’s what I hope the kids learned,” she said at the end of the event.

Thanks to Stefany for inviting me to the career fair to speak about my role as editor of the Chronicle. I thought all the students who visited my table asked thoughtful questions.

And a special shout out to Nellie Barrett, a senior at GHS who interned at the Chronicle during the fall.

I got to catch up with Nellie for a few minutes during the fair. And I got to tell other students at the fair about how Nellie interned for our newspaper, at which she did a fantastic job.

• Kathy Gresey is editor of the Kane County Chronicle. Contact her at kgresey@shawmedia.com or 630-845-5368.